Nearly 85% of all agencies have teleworkers and the overall federal workforce has 21% who telework, according to a recent report from the Telework Exchange.

The organization surveyed federal agencies for their readiness to implement information technology that enables telework and increased use of mobile devices.

According to the survey, 65% of agencies scored either an “A” or a “B” for their telework readiness and those agencies cited laptops, smartphones, remote desktops, instant messaging and video/Web conferencing as their top telework tools.

Most agencies surveyed expect mobile device use to increase 20 percent by next year but nearly half of all agencies are working on a cost-reduction plan for issuing mobile devices to workers.

In November, the General Services Administration began treating telework and office work equally under a new policy that assumes people can work remotely.

Employees could lose their privileges if they go absent without leave for more than five days in a year.